KEXP Reviews

While this Montreal band’s first two albums featured some of the finest indie-rock of the past decade, their 3rd full-length might very well be their strongest, most fully realized album yet. Featuring 16 songs and over 64 minutes in length, The Suburbs is not only filler-free, but also flows beautifully from beginning to end, with the band sounding less strident and more relaxed and assured on richly detailed songs that draw upon the band members’ experiences of growing up in the suburbs to explore themes of family, community, responsibility, alienation and integrity. The band’s sound is also more wide-ranging and less easily pinned down, blending elements of rock, folk, electro-pop, New Wave and more with instrumentation ranging from ringing guitars and ethereal synths to piano, accordion and some gorgeous string arrangements. 7/26/2010
- Don Yates